”Wuthering Heights’ First Reviews Promise a Hot Take on a Classic

The Los Angeles premiere has seen several first reactions hitting social media, and as the movie is already expected to take up to $40 million domestically on its opening weekend, the anticipation around the release will probably only be increased by a promise that “this is not the Wuthering Heights you read at school.”

Buzzfeed‘s Ada Enechi said that “you’re either going to love it or hate it” before going to note that she “loved it.” Furthermore, her review heaped praise on both Elordi and Robbie, saying, “Potentially my favorite performance from Jacob Elordi, definitely makes the top 3 for Margot [Robbie] but what made me stand up to attention was the score and cinematography — breathtaking. It’s passionate, it’s daring and explores a version of the classic that deserves our attention.”

TV host Maude Garett comments that the film is “utter perfection” and will “make you feel everything during and afterward.” Meanwhile, Variety‘s Jazz Tangcay, calls the film “a scorching hot and twisted tale” with the two leads delivering “sexual tension on a whole other level of hot.” The short preview review ends with Tangcay saying, “Only Emerald could take a classic, turn it on its head, make you fall completely in lust, and then utterly destroy your soul.”

‘Wuthering Heights’ Has Been Controversial from the Start

When casting was announced for Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, Elordi landing the role of Heathcliff drew immediate criticism from lovers of classic literature. However, casting director Kharmel Cochrane pushed back on the backlash, saying in a Q&A session early in 2025, “Just wait till you see it, and then you decide whether you want to shoot me.” This comment was in response to Cochrane having seen an online post saying she should be shot for the casting decisions made. She continued, “You don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. It’s all art.”

Outside the “whitewashing” controversy, a test screening of the movie in August 2025 reportedly drew “mixed reactions” and “signs of physical discomfort among the audience.” The report suggested that the hyper-sexualized imagery used in the movie plays out very differently to the novel, and led to “polarized” reactions from those who attended the screening.

None of that seems to have muted the interest in Wuthering Heights, and with the ever-popular Robbie and new Oscar-nominee Elordi leading the movie, it seems that the film will have no problems enticing an audience to “come undone” around Valentines. Opening on Feb.13, the controversy and first reactions will only help to boost the curiosity factor around the film, and that could see it pushing higher than the $40 million opening weekend projection it currently has.